The fact that a VCR is able to re-generate pictures and sound is due to the contact of the head tip and video tape. The head tip picks up magnetic signals and converts them into pictures and sound. After the VCR has been used for some time, the head tip will be covered with some magnetic powder or fungi. This will reduce the capability of the head tip to steadily pick up the magnetic signals. Hence, the purpose of a head tip cleaning tape is to remove the dust from a VCR head tip in order to maintain stable picture and sound effects.
Based on past experiences, conventional cleaning tapes usually worked well the first several times. It then gradually lost its cleaning capability. In some cases, the cleaning tape even damaged the head tip. The Applicant had been engaging in the research of the magnetic head and had found that the structural design was the reason for the cleaning tape being short lived. The conventional cleaning tape has several convexed magnetic particles sparsely located on the top of the 35 .mu.m thick tape surface. The contact friction between the magnetic particles and head tip enables the dust to be removed from the head tip. The removed dust then fills in the spaces between magnetic particles and gradually causes them to lose the dust-removing capability which results in poor cleaning effect and shortened life for the head tip.
Hence, the Applicant is proposing a whole new design of head tip cleaning and associated tape structure. The principle is to cut several oblique arrays of grooves on the video tape surface with a laser beam. 90.degree. vertical cutting edges are then formed on the two sides of the grooves with the remaining powder particles. The accumulated dust can be removed from the cutting edges and collected by membranes installed on the tape. The design which used the dust-removing cutting edge structure and the dust-collecting membranes renders complete cleaning and repeatability of usage.
Also, this invention employs the conventional fine video tape surface instead of the rough surface with convexed magnetic particles. Damages on the head tip can thus be avoided.
In addition, this invention provides a function of indicating the head tip wear during the cleaning process. Consumers will be able to monitor the remaining life of the head tip through this function.